No other way to put it, the interior line did not play well against Wake Forest.
Mario said it himself on the Joe Rose Show, center was fine, tackles were fine, guards were "hit or miss." When a coach uses a phrase like that, it means more down than up.
Rewatching the tape and talking to people inside the building, here's the read: this isn't a "these are our five" situation. It's fluid. Nobody's job is safe except maybe McCoy and Samson, who've earned it. Everybody else is auditioning.
Ahmmon watched the tape multiple times and here were his biggest gripes.
Darian Mensah getting drilled on free runs - A safety got a free release from eight yards out and hit Mensah full speed, untouched, right in the ribs. Ahmmon's blunt about it: that cannot happen. Mensah is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, and you can't let him play scared or uncomfortable in the pocket because the interior can't communicate. That's on the guards, not on him.
He wants to see the guards fight back, literally - He doesn't see any "nasty streak" from the interior. Guys get put on the ground and just stay there instead of getting up and looking for the next rep to make right. He compared it to watching a street fight where one guy won't swing back. He's not saying these guys lack toughness as people, he's saying it's not showing up on gameday yet.
The screen-heavy second half wasn't Dawson being scared; it was self-preservation - Ahmmon defended the play-calling shift. If your interior can't create push and your quarterback keeps getting popped, you check the ball down and get it out fast. Wake Forest sensed the O-line couldn't handle stunts and mug looks in the interior and they just kept living there. Every team left on the schedule saw that tape too, and they're going to do the same thing until Miami proves it can block it.
The tackles have been the opposite of the preseason question mark - Coming out of camp, the concern was whether Samson could hold up and how McCoy would handle tackle. Instead, the tackles have been "lights out" and it's the interior that's been the problem. Mark Fletcher will hit a 15-20 yard run on a good rep and then the next snap is a two-yard loss. That inconsistency, Ahmmon says, is the O-line's Achilles heel right now, and it has to get fixed by finding a way to string together at least a couple of consistent quarters before we ask for more.
Cantwell's spring hype was real, and so is the adjustment - Ahmmon owns some of the offseason praise. Cantwell was performing at left tackle in the spring, blocking one-on-ones cleanly. But practice reps against the same D-linemen every day aren't the same as a live game against a new opponent who's scouted your weaknesses and is going to attack them for four quarters. Guard is also a new position for him, and there's a mental adjustment that comes with that on top of a completely different level of competition.
He wants Cantwell on the field even knowing the risk - Ahmmon's honest that this could go either way. If Cantwell has three great series and then gets exposed once, the fanbase reaction could get ugly fast for a true freshman, especially with the money attached to his recruitment. But his take is you don't develop a player by keeping him on the bench. Put him in, let him take his lumps, and he'll learn by doing.
Putting it plainly: patience is not the same thing as satisfaction. We're not there yet up front, and everybody in that building knows it.
Check out the full breakdown on YouTube:
Mario said it himself on the Joe Rose Show, center was fine, tackles were fine, guards were "hit or miss." When a coach uses a phrase like that, it means more down than up.
Rewatching the tape and talking to people inside the building, here's the read: this isn't a "these are our five" situation. It's fluid. Nobody's job is safe except maybe McCoy and Samson, who've earned it. Everybody else is auditioning.
Ahmmon watched the tape multiple times and here were his biggest gripes.
Darian Mensah getting drilled on free runs - A safety got a free release from eight yards out and hit Mensah full speed, untouched, right in the ribs. Ahmmon's blunt about it: that cannot happen. Mensah is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, and you can't let him play scared or uncomfortable in the pocket because the interior can't communicate. That's on the guards, not on him.
He wants to see the guards fight back, literally - He doesn't see any "nasty streak" from the interior. Guys get put on the ground and just stay there instead of getting up and looking for the next rep to make right. He compared it to watching a street fight where one guy won't swing back. He's not saying these guys lack toughness as people, he's saying it's not showing up on gameday yet.
The screen-heavy second half wasn't Dawson being scared; it was self-preservation - Ahmmon defended the play-calling shift. If your interior can't create push and your quarterback keeps getting popped, you check the ball down and get it out fast. Wake Forest sensed the O-line couldn't handle stunts and mug looks in the interior and they just kept living there. Every team left on the schedule saw that tape too, and they're going to do the same thing until Miami proves it can block it.
The tackles have been the opposite of the preseason question mark - Coming out of camp, the concern was whether Samson could hold up and how McCoy would handle tackle. Instead, the tackles have been "lights out" and it's the interior that's been the problem. Mark Fletcher will hit a 15-20 yard run on a good rep and then the next snap is a two-yard loss. That inconsistency, Ahmmon says, is the O-line's Achilles heel right now, and it has to get fixed by finding a way to string together at least a couple of consistent quarters before we ask for more.
Cantwell's spring hype was real, and so is the adjustment - Ahmmon owns some of the offseason praise. Cantwell was performing at left tackle in the spring, blocking one-on-ones cleanly. But practice reps against the same D-linemen every day aren't the same as a live game against a new opponent who's scouted your weaknesses and is going to attack them for four quarters. Guard is also a new position for him, and there's a mental adjustment that comes with that on top of a completely different level of competition.
He wants Cantwell on the field even knowing the risk - Ahmmon's honest that this could go either way. If Cantwell has three great series and then gets exposed once, the fanbase reaction could get ugly fast for a true freshman, especially with the money attached to his recruitment. But his take is you don't develop a player by keeping him on the bench. Put him in, let him take his lumps, and he'll learn by doing.
Putting it plainly: patience is not the same thing as satisfaction. We're not there yet up front, and everybody in that building knows it.
Check out the full breakdown on YouTube:
